Job Interviews

I got behavioral questions, too. It's usually 3 parts: Describe X situation/problem, how you handled X, and the outcome. "X" can be a difficult customer/coworker, or a deadline, or a safety issue, a moral issue, etc.

Nothing was really surprising. Something I need to remind myself sometimes is to always have some questions for the interviewer. It shows interest when you have questions. Asking questions is also a way for You to interview them. Some questions you may have might be variations on the theme of "Am I going to like working here?". I phrase it this way, "How satisfied are the employees here? And how do you know?" Another question I use as a stock question is, "What is the typical day like for this position?" and I intend it to mean what does this job look like hour-to-hour.

I get scared to ask questions, but it's a natural thing to do. Once I interviewed for a well-paying job and did really well with the questions and then at the end of the interview, they asked me if I had any questions and I said "no". And they looked surprised and disappointed in that. I got so nervous that I just wanted the interview to end, so I said "no." That's OK, because even though I spent hours preparing for the interview and 1 hour with the interview itself, I learned an important lesson: always ask questions. I won't forget that.

Also, when they ask about my weaknesses, I think I found a satisfactory and true statement: I tend try to solve problems on my own. It's true because I have anxiety asking people for help, but I leave out that part of the story. I just say I like solving problems on my own and interviewers seem to be OK with that. If they want an example, I have a story prepared that happened in which I took 30 mins-1hr to fix something, then asked coworkers and then the supervisor about it; supervisor helped me fix it quickly and I learned a lesson to be collaborative when solving problems; I learned to get input from many people because it's a lot more efficient.

I think it shows initiative gone wrong, but also shows a willingness to work cooperatively with others and the ability to adapt and learn; workstyle is also changed to reflect that. So, you may want to open up about a weakness, but at the end of the story, make it explicit that you learned something about how to improve upon the weakness.

AGGGHHHH, okay, I had my interview on Thursday afternoon, and it didn't go well, but I keep having to remind myself that despite it not going as well as I wanted to, that it wasn't that bad.

The thing is that the interviewer did not direct the interview like I thought she would, she didn't ask what my strengths were, she didn't ask what my weaknesses were, nothing about "tell me about a time that you had a problem", etc, but that's what I had prepared for; she asked open ended questions instead.

Instead, she started by asking the open ended question of tell me about yourself. At one point, I couldn't figure out how to connect one sentence to the next so I said "....I'm not much of a partyer, I like to read, watch tv...." and that was a mistake because I made it sound like it was bad that I didn't like to party, like I was that much of a loner or whatver. What I should've said was "...In my spare time, I like to..." There was another point where I couldn't grab the words from my head fast enough so I ended up making some vague statement which I'm sure she noticed.

Then she said "tell me about your work history" and I also ended up making a short vague explanation on that too when I had actually prepared to say way more than that. I didn't realize how tough it'd be to sit there and have her right in front of me, looking at me while I speak and that's what made me shorten my responses, it was uncomfortable.

Then she said, "why do you think you'd be good at this job?" And I hadn't prepared a good answer for that!:afr I had prepared one for my strengths, but not one for why I'd be good for that specific job. When I got home though, I did think of an answer that would have been perfect for it, but it was too late by then.

Finally, she asked "what questions do have for me" which ended up being pretty much the majority of the interview, it was a really short interview. Luckily I was able to ask her 3 questions, : What kind of traffic does the store have, what's training like cashiering-wise and another question, can't remember it.

Yup it was a short interview which I showed surprise at and she said that she could usually tell which person was good for the job through this method. The interview was her asking me open ended questions and then sitting back and watching me perform(answering her questions) when I thought it'd be a lot of her asking question after question.

Looking back, what I should have done was as soon as she said "tell me about yourself", I should've started spouting off at the mouth, sure, telling her about my schooling, hobbies and then spilling everything that I had prepared about my strengths and weakness, etc, cause I didn't get the chance to talk about those things.

Prior to the interview, I had thought of canceling it, but I chose to go through with it anyways and despite it not going well, I'm very glad that I made all my mistakes at this interview so that I could do WAAAY better at my next interview.

i had the "worst quality" question at my last interview. i was going to answer "closet perv" but obviously that was not going to fly well, so i said i was predictable, explaining (in my case) that after awhile i get into a pattern and that over time with hard work, that i could prove to be a valuable asset. of course, you have to pair it up with hard work, so ever since i have been on a consistently positive streak with my work.

also, the more people interviewing you, try to pay attention to all of them when speaking, like give each of them equal time during the conversation. kind of like break up each section across each person, so you can look each person in the eyes as you talk. i had a 3-person panel interview and i thought i was wandering way too much, but it paid off.

also note it is okay to ask for clarification on questions you do not understand, should they be difficult. and do not take too much time thinking of a question - if you have to think about it, don't look down at the ground, it might give the impression the question really bugs you - i divert my eyes up in the air above the panels' heads for a few while i gather thoughts.

letitrock said:

What has your experience been in interviews, what questions have you been asked? :

stuff like what's your best and worst quality?

Do they ask questions involving your friends like are you the mediator of your group or do you sit back and not participate??.....

what stuff was difficult and surprising?

Also, did they ask personal questions like what do you do for fun? What music do you like? Were the people in charge particular about hiring someone that was not only qualified, but that would CLICK with them?

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I have never been asked personal questions like what do you do for fun or what music you like... wait I think I have been asked about hobbies so maybe that counts.

I have been asked what are my weaknesses... I don't think this is a fair question because it is obviously a trick question. I no one comes to a job interview to give out reasons NOT to hire them.

And if the interviewer is playing the game of "can you turn a weakness into a positive" why the mind games... now you are suggest (without saying) that you want me to lie or massage the truth so I can sound like something I'm not. How about if I tell you why I am good for the job and if you agree hire me if not hire someone else, why must we speak in code?

They always asked about passed experience, and there is a big thing on how you improved your past job. They always want to hear how you made the last job 20 times better.

I had ONE group interview WAY WAY WAY back, and it was horrible, because they will ask like 7 people who are sitting right next each other the same question. If number 2 has a great answer... what am I suppose to say as number 5.... "uh what she said."

pehrj said:

"What is your greatest strength?" or "Tell me about a time when you were a group that was having a problem and how it was solved." They'll probably ask job specific questions as well to test your knowledge on what you have to do on the job.

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letitrock said:

...tell me about yourself.
...why do you think you'd be good at this job?"

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Those are probably the most common questions you'l lbe asked in an interview (that's been the case for me at least). Always have a good answer in mind, even if its BS.

letitrock said:

Finally, she asked "what questions do have for me"

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NEVER, and i mean NEVER reply with "I have none" or "I don't have any questions for you", because this translates into "I really don't want this job and I'm wasting my time and yours". Always have at least a few questions in mind before going to the interview (you may want to have a lot more if its a professional type job, my last job I had to interview with 4 different managers --- TORTURE! I struggled to make up questions as I walked to the next office each time, lol). Ask about the work environment, what's a typical day, software used, management structure. These type of questions will show them that you're interested. Things not to ask about...pay or time off obviously :lol: My first few interviews I always said something like "Oh, I don't have any questions, you covered everything. Thanks"...well I never even got a call back for any of those jobs, not even to let me know I didn't get it. My first interview asking questions I was called back and offered the job the following day. My current job, I was called within a couple hours after the interview.